When a penguin is being chased by predators in the water one would think it would head for land. Not this one though!  PengWIN!

If you feared you missed your shot at being a part of the last I and the Bird of 2008, rest at ease. You have until the end of the day to send your submission to me or Jeffery A. Gordon (jeffgyr AT mac DOT com) but make it a good one!

What?  Only two people have suggested slogans to help a conservation initiative and get a chance to win a free rug with the bird image of their choice?!?!?!  Get on it people!  If you enter and no one else does you have a 33% chance of getting a one-of-a-kind handmade treasure!

…but, after posting eight consecutive book and product reviews, we’re not done yet! And if you’re looking for an even wider variety of opinions, check out the sixth edition of the Book Review Blog Carnival.

bird blogs most often (per capita)?  Washington State, of course.  StateStats lets one choose a term and see what state searches for that term most often.  It also let’s one see how the state rankings in other metrics compare to the rankings for the search term.  From this, one can see that there is a [...]

In birding parlance, a “spark bird” is the species that mutates one’s benign regard for nature into a seething, immoderate interest in avifauna. Do you have a spark bird story? If so, you should share it with your fellow bird watchers on Bill Thompson III’s newest stroke of brilliance, The Spark Bird Blog? Send your [...]

A major initiative is being launched to discover whether the Critically Endangered Slender-billed Curlew Numenius tenuirostris - the Western Palearctic’s rarest bird with no confirmed records since 1999 - still survives somewhere. The chances the species will be found are remote, but researchers are determined to find out one way or the other whether the [...]

Which is better for the environment: a natural forest aeons old, or a new palm plantation on cleared ground? A major international study says palm oil plantations - which are replacing forests throughout Asia - reduce plant and animal diversity and do little to reduce carbon emissions. Who could have guessed…

Did you know that Kenn and Kim Kaufman are now blogging? Actually, they’ve been blogging for a few months now but lately, they’ve really been making it happen. If you don’t know why this should be of interest to you, visit their site and browse around. Anyone who knows Kenn and Kim have already clicked [...]

Darren Naish thoughtully reminds us (he first wrote about this in 2006) of the insidious Ifrita coronata, a pachycephalid passerine endemic to New Guinea. Cool!

Last year, we introduced you to Timeless Holiday Gifts for Birders. For this holiday season, we’re ushering in a new tradition: Review Week. Starting tomorrow, we will be posting one new review of a wild bird or birding book or product each day for at least the next seven days. Add this to the long [...]

Good news, via Mark Anderson of Birdlife SA, that the Lesser Flamingoes are breeding again on Kamfers Dam’s artificial flamingo island. There are 8517 nests on the island, the first chicks were observed more than a week ago, and there are hundreds (and perhaps thousands) of adults incubating eggs. Kamfers Dam is the first breeding [...]

If you’re like me, you’ve been an avid reader of pohanginapete. Whether you’re familiar with Pete McGregor’s potent mix of philosophy and photography from the Southern Hemisphere or not, take my advice and check out his fantastic new photoblog, The Ruins of the Moment.

I was looking around the net this morning when I came across a lavishly-illustrated article describing the Nikko/Kuhne 30/60×180mm binoculars - which with their specially designed mount weigh in at over 300 POUNDS! Might they catch on with birders? Not a chance, but I’d love to have a look through them just the once…

The Binocular Site is putting together a master list of some of the best bird watching spots in North America. You can rate the sites that are already on the list or suggest your own. The site also mentions a thing or two about binoculars!

Typealyzer tells you what type of blog a blog is.  All you have to do is visit Typealyzer, type the url of the blog you want analyzed into the box and you find out what the blogger(s) and the blog are like.  10,000 Birds bloggers are “Doers” that are “The active and play-ful type. They [...]

It’s true, according to Colombia’s Vice-President who says that “‘Every time you consume one gram of cocaine, you are destroying 4.4 square metres of Colombian rainforest” in a fascinating report on ‘The Independent’ online. Tell that to the next idiot who tells you that a quick snort never did any harm…

“Plunging penguin populations are a signal that the world?s oceans are suffering the effects of climate change, [over-]fishing and oil and gas development…” So says a post on PeopleandPlanet.net, which also notes that the US’s Fish and Wildlife Service is considering extending Endangered Species Act protections to 10 penguin species in South America, southern Africa [...]

Delta Mining, a British company, wants to mine coal at Wakkerstroom - threatening to devastate one of South Africa’s most ecologically sensitive natural environments. More short-term gain, long-term loss? Not if conservation groups can help it…

The updated and revised Rare Birds Yearbook 2009 is out now. Produced in association with BirdLife International this superb book contains over 100 new stunning photos of the world’s Critically Endangered birds, updated facts on the species and their threat status, brand new features etc. The book is a Species Champion and £4 for each [...]